Disclaimer:

I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS. THIS IS NOT MY WORLD, CREATION OR CHARACTERS IN THE FOLLOWED WORK.

The Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series and characters belong to Richelle Mead.

Since Marie first opened her palm to show me she was more like her father than I ever thought two years ago, I have been watching her grow closer to him everyday. She loves her dad. You can tell. And that makes me happy.

Happier than it would make me to see her grow closer to me as a spirit user.

Right then, I was braiding her long black hair into braids, still wet from just getting out of her bath. Christian sat on the sofa in front of the TV, holding one-year-old Rhea close, rubbing her back, trying to get her to sleep. Two-year-old Daniel was already sleeping in his room down the hall. Christian was humming something that sounded a bit like an old guitar song, like Pearl Jam or something but I ignored it, glad I didn't have to put her to bed. Sure, we don't get to spend a lot of time with them, but when they go to bed without trouble, it's a blessing.

"Mom?" Marie piped up from the floor, where I was tying the ends of her braids. "Can I go to Aunt Rose and Uncle Dimitri's?"

"It's almost bed time, Sweetie." It was only 7:00, but I didn't want her to interrupt their "movie night". And by interrupt, I mean walk in on.

"But, Mom. Aunt Rose was going to teach me how to braid my hair."

"I could teach you," I told her softly as she turned around and looked at me with the dim light shining in her Ozera blue eyes. Christian stood up from the sofa slowly, careful not to wake Rhea, who had her black-haired head on her dad's chest. She didn't get her full nap today. He walked slowly toward the crib in the other room, connected to ours, still humming.

"Aunt Rose can do the cool braid, you know, the one that looks like it's a fish."

I heard Christian stop humming for a moment. First I thought he was thinking the same thing as me, what kind of braid looks like a fish? But he'd stopped to say something to me. "You should take her," he said quietly, "before she throws a fit." I looked toward his voice and saw the he was standing right behind me, and I stand behind Marie while she sits in the chair at the vanity.

Marie stood up then. "I'm going to go get my slippers."

"Go get changed and get your shoes, not your slippers and wait in your room. I'll come get you in a minute."

And she exits our room and into the hall way. Standing like that really did me in. I sat down in the chair, replacing Marie. Christian sat down on the floor in front of me, criss-cross.

He leaned forward to touch his forehead to my stomach and caress the tiny bulge. I watch his blue eyes flicker around my face, after he lifted his head, taking me in. He grabbed my hand and held the one to his cheek. Ten years. It had really been ten years. "I really love you, Liss, you know that?" I nodded. Of course I did. He leaned up easily onto his knees so that we weren't so far apart. "I really do," he told me in an even softer voice. Titling his head back, he slid my hand into his hair himself on purpose. I still fell for his tricks even after all these years.

He kissed me in the way he always did: unexpectedly wonderful and kind, and then everything went from light to heavy; heavy emotions, heavy thoughts, heavy affection, everything clouded. I tried to tell him I loved him too, of course I did, I always will, but the haze of his eyes and lips took me elsewhere. My hair, tied back in a care-free-not-queen-like-at-all bun, was taken down by his fingers untying the rubber band that held it back. Per, acting this, he stood up slightly, bringing me with him, and, not wanting to look up to have to kiss him, began working on his neck, my hands on his neck and in his hair. Christian then stood up completely and pushed me back towards the bed when I realized that Marie was going to open the door any second.

"Hey, hey," I said, putting my hands on his shoulders to turn him and set him on the edge of the bed. "I'll call Jill. And uh..." I noticed red smudges near his mouth and on his neck. Oops. I wiped self-consciously at my mouth, watching him smirk. "Have a sleepover for Marie and Lucy, huh?"

Christian grabbed the hem of my skirt. Made me sit with my thigh touching his next to him on our bed. He had my personal phone in his hand. "Call her," he said, his mouth very close to my ear. I did, Christian nibbling and breathing in my other ear the whole time, running his hands through my hair and down my other leg. Apparently Aunt Jill knew how to do the cool fish braid, which I was informed was called fishtail.

"Why do you sound so nervous?" Jill asked me. She was coming to pick up Marie from her room, because she was close from doing errands and because Lucy was with her.

"No reason," I said too fast as Christian promptly bit the skin at my jaw.

Jill said, "Alright, fine, tell me later," laughed, and hung up.

Alone at last.

Until a minute later Rhea began to cry. We both got up.

"Just another day in paradise," Christian muttered, and I smiled.

This one was sorter and a bit crapier but I really did want to write it. Also I randomly started writing in second person there for a sec. Thanks for making it through to the end! Funny endings make me smile. Review, like, ect, ect.